The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved Coinbase Derivatives Exchange’s application to list futures contracts tied to Dogecoin (DOGE), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC).
According to the filing, the listings will go live and start trading on or after April 1, 2024. The CFTC’s website indicates that all three contracts have been certified at March 7th.
Each of the three tokens saw an above-average price increase when the news gained publicity on March 20. At the time of writing, DOGE was up 16.1%, BCH was up 11.4%, and LTC was up 7.8%.
The overall crypto market rose 6.2% in comparison.
Coinbase Derivatives currently offers institutional and retail contracts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). It also offers crude oil contracts.
Regulation as a commodity
Coinbase’s decision to pursue futures listings for DOGE, BCH, and LTC could have broader implications regarding their origins.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart suggested that the exchange may have chosen the three digital assets because each was originally based on the code of Bitcoin, which is now widely considered a commodity by most regulators.
According to Seyffart:
“This will force the SEC to make a distinction between security and commodities, beyond ‘we said so’.”
Meanwhile, Scott Johnsson, General Partner and General Counsel at Van Buren Capital, says suggested that Coinbase’s applications could be the first of many. He wrote:
“The tidal wave begins. I wondered when Coinbase would do something like this.”
Johnson said a change in US leadership could attract more signups and suggested such futures listings are a “necessary condition” for spot crypto ETFs.
The SEC was famously forced to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs after losing a legal battle with Grayscale. The court ruled that the regulator’s decision to block the ETFs for years was “arbitrary”.
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